Offseason??...What's that??

It has been a couple weeks since I have made a post to this blog, so I figured I would provide an update. After a week of crappy running due to being sick, I have been able to put together two decent weeks of running. Three shorter midweek runs with a weekend long run. I have also put together my spring base building plan which will start on March 19th, the day after I get back from vacation. This plan, which consists of 11 weeks of running, will lead me up to the start of my marathon training in June. Below is the base building plan that I have put together. Please feel free to critique...

Week	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun
1	3 m run	5 m run	4 m run	rest	rest	6 m fartlek	12
2	3 m run	5 m run	4 m run	rest	rest	6 m fartlek	14
3	3 m run	5 m run	4 m run	rest	3 m run	6 m fartlek	15
4	3 m run	5 m run	4 m run	rest	3 m run	6 m fartlek	12
5	3 m run	5 m run	8x Hill	rest	3 m run	6 m fartlek	14
6	3 m run	5 m run	4 m run	3 m run	rest	8-K Race	5
7	3 m run	4 m run	8 x Hill	rest	3 m run	8 m run	12
8	rest	4 m run	8 x Hill	3 m run	3 m run	8 m fartlek	14
9	rest	4 m run	8 x Hill	3 m run	3 m run	8 m run	15
10	rest	4 m run	8 x Hill	3 m run	3 m run	8 m fartlek	12
11	rest	4 m run	8 x Hill	3 m run	3 m run	8 m run	14

An adventurous Saturday morning run this morning. Coming off yesterday's late winter snow storm, I wentured out for a six miler on not so freshly shoveled sidewalks. Trudging through 3-4 inches of new fallen snow definitely slowed the pace as footing was not the greatest. The 18 mph headwind didn't help either. But I decided to not worry about pace and just focus on maintaining good form and keeping my balance while running through the snow. I now kinda know how Rocky felt when he was training in Russia...ok not that extreme, but you get the picture...

Hopefully things get cleared off today, as I have 14 miles scheduled for tomorrow

Snow in Wisconsin, tornadoes in Indiana, flowers in Texas....I guess it's March! Nice job getting the run done in the fresh snow.

Peg Coover wrote:Snow in Wisconsin, tornadoes in Indiana, flowers in Texas....I guess it's March! Nice job getting the run done in the fresh snow.

Thanks!! It was another cold and snowy one this morning, but at least they had plowed the trail yesterday. So, I only had the half inch that we got last night and this morning to run through.

Looks like good base-maintenance running. Sorry about the snow. I can't stand running in 3-4" of snow when most people don't shovel side walks and then between streets or at the ends of blocks there are big piles of snow to climb over. It's crazy. (I had a nice run in shorts this morning and we have no snow in sight right now so I'm glad for that).

Did you decide on a fall marathon?

Nick, your plan looks pretty good, not a lot of miles. Are you planning that this would lead to a spring race like a half marathon, or is it mainly to build for a marathon training plan?

Julie wrote:Looks like good base-maintenance running. Sorry about the snow. I can't stand running in 3-4" of snow when most people don't shovel side walks and then between streets or at the ends of blocks there are big piles of snow to climb over. It's crazy. (I had a nice run in shorts this morning and we have no snow in sight right now so I'm glad for that).

Did you decide on a fall marathon?

The good news is that it was 66 degrees here yesterday and what snow we had was gone in a matter of 3 hours

I haven't signed up for a fall marathon yet, but I am leaning towards the Hamilton Road 2 Hope Marathon in Hamilton, ON.

JohnP wrote:Nick, your plan looks pretty good, not a lot of miles. Are you planning that this would lead to a spring race like a half marathon, or is it mainly to build for a marathon training plan?

I agree that it is not a lot of miles, but this plan is to just build a base for my marathon training schedule that starts in June. I do not plan on running a spring race like a full or half, but I may do something smaller like a 10K or 8K.

I was born and raised in Wisconsin...I went to high school in Port Washington (on Lake Michigan). Most of my family still live in WI. They've been telling me about the mile winter. I'll bet the runners are enjoying it, but the snowmobile set isn't happy, I'm sure.

Heading to Phoenix today to get a little R&R. I plan on taking in some Spring Training baseball games and then head up to Las Vegas by mid next week to partake in a little March Madness gambling

It will be nice to get out into the desert and take in some warmer runs.

Enjoy the warm runs!

Peg Coover wrote:Enjoy the warm runs!

Heading out right now!!!!!!!

Got in a nice little 5 miler this morning and just got back froma baseball game. Nothing like getting in a run and then watching a baseball game while catching some rays

It's almost time for another run through the desert. A good 5'er tonight and another tomorrow morning before catching a flight up to Las Vegas on Wednesday. It has been really nice to take in the rays, but ironically it is supposed to be in the 70s back home in Wisconsin. So, I guess I could have stayed home for that

T-minus one week until my base training starts...

After a long and much needed vacation, I got back to the grind yesterday. It was day one of my 11 week base training program that will get me ready for my marathon training. It's time to get serious

Yesterday was day two of base training and it couldn't have been a much better day. We had a record high of 81 degrees, which made the first day of spring feel more like summer. More days like those please...

Nick Morris wrote:Yesterday was day two of base training and it couldn't have been a much better day. We had a record high of 81 degrees, which made the first day of spring feel more like summer. More days like those please...

No problem, Nick - I'll send out heat north along with all the "Record breaking" pollen. Keep up the good work.

Almost done with Week 1. This morning I knocked out a 6 mile fartlek on a damp and fogging morning. It's time to work on getting some speed back!! It was a great run this morning that was somewhat tough, but gave me that feeling that I really made some gains. An easy 12 miles tomorrow to finish out the week.

Now it is time to focus on my fantasy baseball draft that takes place in less than two hours...Have a great weekend of running!!

I made it official today. I am now signed up for and will be running the Hamilton Road2Hope Marathon on November 4th in sunny Hamilton, Ontario. After a lot of searching and reviewing fall marathons, I gravitated towards this one. I am hoping that mother nature will agree with me this year after to sub par weather years in a row. Canada in early November will hopefully break the streak and propel me to my first BQ. The course itself is noted as the fastest course in Canada and Canada's #1 Boston qualifier. This will also be my first trip north of the border, so I am excited to see what Toronto has to offer

Playing catch-up here, but regarding your base building plan, I wouldn't be afraid to do some 4-5 mile evenly paced tempos in place of the Saturday fartleks. You don't need a farltek every week.

Dave-O wrote:Playing catch-up here, but regarding your base building plan, I wouldn't be afraid to do some 4-5 mile evenly paced tempos in place of the Saturday fartleks. You don't need a farltek every week.

Thanks for the advice Dave!!

Great 6 mile fartlek this morning. In fact, I ran 15 sec/mile faster than the one I ran last Saturday. I am looking forward to the LSD tomorrow...

The Vlog is back!!!



Fourteen mile LSD this morning. Finished 14.22 miles at an even 7:50 pace. Week 2 of base building complete

Good to see you mug again Nick - was the 14 miler hard at all for you at that pace? Sounds like a cool plan for November - what B races, if any, are you doing this summer? Another relay perhaps?

John Kilpatrick wrote:Good to see you mug again Nick - was the 14 miler hard at all for you at that pace? Sounds like a cool plan for November - what B races, if any, are you doing this summer? Another relay perhaps?

Thanks John...I could start to feel a little fatigue the last couple of miles, but nothing too serious. It is only the second time that I have ran at this distance since last fall.

As for "B" races , I plan on running the Ragnar Great River Relay from Winona, MN to Minneapolis, MN again. Also, I will run my usual tune up race (although it will be a little earlier this year with my goal race being in November), the Fox Cities Half Marathon in Appleton, WI. I have ran this race for the last 6 years or so.

That's really all of the big races that I have lined up. I may run an 8K later this month, but I don't really count that.